The Chickens Of Wild Ivy Farm

06/16/2026

Vintage Visit to 2022

Presley & Jackson hatched & raised by Daisy.

This was the Summer of the great baby swap. Dazzle had 2 eggs and Daisy had two eggs. Dazzle’s eggs hatched but Daisy’s didn’t. Penobscot Poultry had Bantam Cochin chicks so I got two (Whoopie & Pie) and gave those to Dazzle (who is a bantam) and gave Dazzle’s regular size babies to Daisy, who is also regular size. Since the Chicks were just a day old, no one was the wiser that they were “switched at birth”.

Whoopie passed away at just a year old but everyone else is still with us.

06/11/2026

Summerside is a bad mom.

She is the worst parts of a hippie mom who says children should run free and learn about life by exploring without supervision. She is the worst parts of a psychoanalyst mom who says children should come to their own conclusions without intervention by adults. She is the worst part of a casual mom who says someone will be around to look after her kids, she doesn’t need to be there constantly. She is the worst parts of a reluctant mom who doesn’t want to be restricted by motherhood from having her own fun. And she is the worst parts of a naturalist survival mom who says children will figure it out themselves if you leave them alone in the wilderness.

Poor little Dilly & Egret are always lost. Sometimes Summerside is nearby but often times she has wandered off without telling her children where she’s going. If they cry, Daisy and Pie will respond and look after them until Summerside wonders back into town. Dilly is already showing signs of anxiety while Egret is developing depression. They’ll have to go to therapy to overcome their abandonment and trust issues.

At least Summerside still snuggles them at night. She may be a dippy wayward mom by day, but at night she is still comforting and reliable.

06/09/2026

When you realize the paparazzi is invading your personal family time:

Summerside with her babies, Dilly & Egret

06/04/2026

Can we just take a moment to admire the enormous poofiness of Tourmaline? He is almost one year old and has become the most astonishing boy. His size, his floof, his color… what a grand ottoman-size rooster he has become!

Tourmaline is a Lavender Orpington of the English style. That means he is wider and lower and puffier than an American style Orpington. That may explain his ginger colored, English “Lord of the Manor” eyebrows too.

Tourmaline is a good boy and tolerates me picking him up and reveling in his squishiness every so often.

He is shown here with his friend Hopewell, an average rooster-sized rooster. They are part of the group of six roosters (The Bubbas) that live here.

06/02/2026

There was a strange noise coming from the space where we keep Mercury’s chopped hay. Mercury is an old horse and a finicky eater but he loves his chopped forage. So does little Razzle, so it seems, but for a far differ purpose.

There she was, a pocket size excavator, digging away in the tub, like there was a prize at the bottom. Her tiny legs fired like pistons and the hay chaff flew. She was in full on nest building mode.

I let her finish her nest and when she had laid her egg and gotten a treat for her efforts, I collected her egg and refilled Mercury’s dinner pail.

Razzle was satisfied with her work and Mercury was none the wiser.

05/23/2026

05/23/2026

Pie hatched a beautiful little chick! Tinkerbell’s genes are certainly dominate with all of our babies looking like mini Tinks. Little Cranberry is absolutely precious with her spots and feathery feet. Pie is a good mom and the only trouble is that her babies have quite a time trying to get underneath her generous floof 🥰😄

05/18/2026

Daisy is a good mama ❤️

05/08/2026

Little BB-8 is doing well and spending lots of time snuggling with Mama Daisy.